Extracellular nucleotides are emerging as important regulators of inflammation, cell proliferation and differentiation in a variety of tissues, including the hematopoietic system. In this study, the role of ATP was investigated during murine hematopoiesis. ATP was able to reduce the percentage of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), common myeloid progenitors and granulocyte–macrophage progenitors (GMPs), whereas differentiation into megakaryocyte–erythroid progenitors was not affected. In addition, in vivo administration of ATP to mice reduced the number of GMPs, but increased the number of Gr-1+Mac-1+ myeloid cells. ATP also induced an increased proliferation rate and reduced Notch expression in HSCs and impaired HSC-mediated bone marrow reconstitution in sublethally irradiated mice. Moreover, the effects elicited by ATP were inhibited by suramin, a P2 receptor antagonist, and BAPTA, an intracellular Ca2+ chelator. We further investigated whether the presence of cytokines might modulate the observed ATP-induced differentiation. Treatment of cells with cytokines (stem cell factor, interleukin-3 and granulocyte–monocyte colony stimulator factor) before ATP stimulation led to reduced ATP-dependent differentiation in long-term bone marrow cultures, thereby restoring the ability of HSCs to reconstitute hematopoiesis. Thus, our data suggest that ATP induces the differentiation of murine HSCs into the myeloid lineage and that this effect can be modulated by cytokines.

There are a growing number of reports showing the influence of redox modulation in cellular signaling. Although the regulation of hematopoiesis by reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) has been described, their direct participation in the differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) remains unclear. In this work, the direct role of nitric oxide (NO • ), a RNS, in the modulation of hematopoiesis was investigated using two sources of NO•

It is well established that the excessive consumption of a high-fat diet (HFD) results in overweight, obesity and an increase in leptin concentrations, which triggers a chronic inflammatory condition that is associated with a high white blood cell count. Two-month-old male Wistar rats were fed a control (CON) diet or an HFD for 12 weeks. After this period, hemogram, myelogram and biochemical parameters were evaluated along with the cell cycle and the percentage of CD34(+) cells in the bone marrow as well as cell proliferation and differentiation assays and the production of stem cell factor, interleukin 3 (IL-3), granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). The HFD animals exhibited leukocytosis and neutrophilia with increased C-reactive protein, leptin, cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations. In the HFD group, the bone marrow revealed myeloid hyperplasia, especially of the granulocytic compartment with a higher percentage of CD34(+) cells and a higher percentage of cells in the G2/S/M cell cycle phases. In addition, the HFD bone marrow cells had a higher capacity to proliferate and differentiate into granulocytic cells in an in vitro system and a higher capacity to produce IL-3 and G-CSF. These data led us to infer that the HFD induces leukocytosis and neutrophilia suggesting alterations in hematopoiesis system modulation.

No abstract

Tocopherols promote or inhibit growth in different cell types. In the hematopoietic system, the radioprotective property of tocopherols is thought to act through the expansion of primitive hematopoietic cells. However, the mechanisms activated by tocopherols and which HPs are affected remain poorly understood. To better address these questions, mice were treated with α-tocopherol, and its effects were investigated in the BM microenvironment. α-Tocopherol induced increased proliferation in HSC/HP cells, leading to BM hyperplasia. In addition, differentiation to the granulocytic/monocytic lineage was enhanced by α-tocopherol treatment. α-Tocopherol treatment resulted in decreased basal phosphorylation of ERK1/2, PKC, and STAT-5 in HSC/HP cells. In contrast, α-tocopherol enhanced ERK1/2 activation in response to IL-3 stimulation in HSC/HP cells without altering the expression of IL-3Rs. Moreover, α-tocopherol-induced differentiation and ERK1/2 activation were abolished in mice pretreated with a MEK inhibitor (PD98059); however, pretreatment with PD98059 did not reduce the α-tocopherol-mediated increase in HSC/HP cells but instead, further enhanced their proliferation. Therefore, α-tocopherol induces expansion of HSC/HP cells by a nonidentified intracellular pathway and granulocytic/monocytic differentiation through ERK1/2 activation.